Launch
by iamduffan
Summary: Launch fell in love with Tien's savagery and went chasing after him as he left to train in solitude. This is just a short story about her chase.


The small town of Cumin ground to a screeching halt as the stranger swaggered in. She was a shapely woman in tattered grey shorts and a skin-tight black t-shirt, with red stockings sticking out over the top of her knee-high combat boots. A bright red ribbon stood out in platinum blond hair. While the men's eyes were drawn to her chest, the women and children focused on the machine gun clutched casually in her left hand.

The town's mayor, a short and stocky man, waddled over. He rubbed his hands together, imagining caressing her breasts between them. "Excuse me, ma'am," he said, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman whipped out her right hand and dragged him into the air by his collar. "Which way did he go?" She demanded.

"Wh-who?" The mayor asked weakly. Somehow, the woman wasn't nearly as attractive when she was literally threatening to cut off his windpipe.

"Don't play dumb!" She ordered. "I know he came this way! Which way did he go?"

"I- I don't know- Don't know who you're talking about…."

"TIEN SHINHAN!" She screamed, throwing him into the wall of the nearest house. "Which way did he go?"

"You mean that stranger who passed through here a couple days ago?" A woman asked. She cowered in fear as the stranger stormed over.

"He has an eye right here!" She screamed, pointing to the middle of her forehead. "Do you know him or not?"

"He headed north," the woman said quickly. "He and his friend went due north. He said they were heading to the mountains to train."

"The mountains," the stranger said softly. "Yes, yes, of course! How perfect! Together, we can tear them down and create the perfect home! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!"

The citizens let out a collective sigh of relief as the woman started for the northern exit of town. Just as she was about to step out into the woods, she suddenly spun around. "I'll be needing a vehicle if I'm ever going to catch him!"

The local capsule merchant stepped forward, trembling like a leaf in the wind. "Well, I- I'd be glad to- to sell you-"

The woman raised her gun and discharged a round of bullets into the air, causing the children to run for cover behind their mothers.

"_Give_!" The merchant corrected quickly. "I'll give you the best one we have! Just please don't hurt me!"

"Well, don't take all day, then," she snapped. "I have to catch him. WE'RE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!"

"Yes, yes, right this way." The shaking man lead her to his shop, which held thousands of capsules along with pictures of their contents. "We- we have a wide array of-"

"I need the fastest one you have. And something for the mountains. Oh, and this looks nice." She picked up a nearby capsule with a picture of a small house designed for camping and casually dropped it into her pocket. When it clinked to the floor, she shot it to bits in surprise. She stuck her hand into the offending pocket and realized it was riddled with holes. She glared at the capsule merchant. "Well, I'm _going_ to need some new _clothes_."

"I- I don't- don't have clothes," he stuttered. He ducked behind his desk as she raised the gun at him. "Next door! They sell clothes next door!"

"Well, then, you're going to have to wrap me up quickly," she said, resting the barrel of the gun on the tip of his nose. "If I'm going to have to stop at another shop, you're going to have to hurry."

"Yes! Yes, of course, miss…."

"Launch," she said simply. "Call me Launch."

"Yes, yes, Miss Launch. Yes, of course." The merchant muttered, running around his shop and collecting vehicles. He loaded a car, a motorcycle, a submarine/helicopter, and a tent into one of the patented Capsule Corp. carrying cases. "Here you are, Miss Launch."

She snatched it and started to stick it into her pocket before remembering the hole. "Took you long enough."

"Yes, Miss Launch. Sorry, Miss Launch." He fainted in relief as she left the store.

Launch marched into the clothing shop next door to find it utterly abandoned. The proprietor and his wife had seen her coming and were huddling in the safety of the changing room. "Hello? HELLO! I require assistance!" She shot into the air and sent a shower of plaster down from the ceiling, with no response. "Fine, then I'll just help myself." She wandered through the racks until she found an outfit she liked.

Two minutes later, she emerged in a pair of dark blue cargo pants, a tight white shirt, and a bright red jacket, with the same boots and the same bandana in her hair. She threatened the curious crowd with her gun, pulled out a capsule, popped out the motorcycle, climbed onto it, and drove out of Cumin.

"Glad that's over," the mayor said, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead.

Launch zipped through the woods on her stolen motorcycle. She was going to find Tien Shinhan, and they were going to be together in their savagery forever.

Two miles out of town, the paved road through the trees gave way to a small desert. Launch wasn't going to let that deter her, especially since she could already see the other side. She drove on and kicked up a huge cloud of sand. A single grain found its way into her nose, and she wiped out trying to prevent the sneeze.

She failed, and soon the pacifistic blue-haired Lunch was standing up and brushing herself off. "Oh dear," she said, looking at the downed motorcycle. "The last thing I remember…" Another grain of sand made her sneeze, and the blond was back.

"Not _again_!" She groaned. She quickly pinched her nose shut to prevent anymore sneezes. Those blackouts cost her so much time.

She quickly tore the wide ribbon out of her hair and wrapped it around her face. She inhaled deeply and found that she could indeed still breathe through the porous fabric, but the sand stayed safely on the outside.

"Alright, Tien," she said, righting the motorcycle and climbing back on. "Here I come."


End file.
